It Was Meant To Be
by Stephenie18
Summary: In the course of 4 years, Jane's life has changed in more ways than she ever could've imagined.
1. Oh, Tommy

**Title: **It Was Meant To Be

**Genre:** Romance  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> RIZZLES!

**Summary:** In the course of 4 years, Jane's life has changed in more ways than she ever could've imagined.

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes: **HEY EVERYONE! I'm baaaaaack! I've been wanting to torture myself by writing something in first person for a while, so we're going to see how this goes!

As I sit here, watching my pregnant wife and child slumber together, I can't help but think about what happened 5 years ago that led us all to this point in time.

I guess it all started with Tommy, just like it usually does. He had been acting funny for months, not that this is too unusual for him, but still, it WAS a little strange. He wasn't the same happy go lucky guy he had always seemed to be. One night at the table with the family, including my father, mother (at opposite end of the table to keep the peace), Tommy, Frankie, myself, and Maura, Tommy had announced that he and a "lady friend" of his were having a child. What you would give to be a fly on the wall for that dinner, huh?

It was utter chaos. All of us collectively were in shock. Ma and pop had a FIT, while Frankie and I were more calm since we weren't all too surprised that Tommy had royally screwed up... again. Poor Maura didn't know what to do with herself. She just watched the story unfold before her, and her hand was on my forearm, showing her support, most of the evening.

She ended up staying at my place that night, somehow knowing that I needed a distraction. She had wine, I had beer, and we sat on the couch most of the night. The night started with late night television, which we both knew the other loved to watch. We then played a few rounds of Jenga, which I won, and Yahtzee, which Maura ended up winning. As the night wore on, we ended up foregoing the alcohol for chocolate milk, and curled up for couch conversation.

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying the simple deliciousness of our drinks. I remember Maura humming into her cup, and I simply chuckled in response. She ended up bring the one that broke the silence, which was usually the case.

"What are you thinking about, Jane?"

I simply shrugged, half of me unsure of what I thought, and the other half not sure about wanting to share my feelings. But when I looked over and saw Maura's awaiting eyes, I couldn't help but be forthcoming. She always had a way to get information out of me.

"He screwed up, Maura. He went and knocked up some chick, and now he has to face the music. He can't just pretend it didn't happen like everything else in his life. There's a baby involved, his baby, and he has to be a man about it."

Maura simply nodded her response, and placed her now empty mug on the coffee table.

"Do you think he's capable of taking responsibility?"

This one I had to think about. Tommy had screwed up his entire life, but that didn't mean he was a bad guy. But a father? I wasn't so sure about that...

"I don't know, Maura. But, I'm going to lean toward no. Either that child is going to grow up with a barely there father, or one that isn't there at all. Tommy cares, but I just don't think he can handle being a father, Maura. He doesn't have a responsible bone in his body. But, I know that my folks will want to be a part of this child's life. Ma has wanted grandkids since we were born. Knowing her, she'll find a way to make it happen."

Maura smiled softly, knowing I was right about my mother. She scooted closer, and rested her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her waist. I have always loved moments like that. It was in those moments when the love I felt for Maura always came to the surface the most noticeably. I couldn't avoid feeling like it was right, us being curled up together on the couch, talking about our lives. But I always pushed those thoughts away for fear of ruining the best friendship I'd ever had.

"What about you, Jane?" I heard her mumble from my shoulder ,breaking me out of my thoughts.

"What about me, Maura?"

"You don't want anything to do with the child? I mean, you'll be an aunt. That doesn't mean something to you?"

I thought for a long moment, not yet having thought about that. She was right. I would have a little niece or nephew to buy things for and teach things and take places. I had to admit, I kind of liked the idea, even if the situation surrounding it wasn't the best.

"Of course it does, Maura. But I want to see what happens before I get myself too invested in this, ya know? I'm not going to count my chickens yet."

I felt her nod against me softly, and felt her sit up. I looked over, seeing how very tired she was, and smiled softly.

"For the record Jane, I think you'll be a great aunt."

This surprised me. Maura always seemed to know how to do that. I smiled again, and gently stroked Maura's back.

"You think so?"

She nodded gently, scooting so close to me that it became hard for me to breathe.

"I know so."

And with that, her lips were on mine. By the time I registered what had happened, Maura had pulled away.

I opened my eyes to look at her, and saw a look of confusion and fear on her face. I soon realized that she thought I had rejected her, which was far from true. I opened my mouth to say something, but realized that sometimes, words just don't work. So, I did the only thing that came to mind; I kissed her.

We must've kissed on the couch that night for a straight hour. I never thought I could kiss someone nonstop for that long and not be tired or bored, but then again, this time it was different. This time it was Maura.

We didn't really talk about things at the moment in time. I think we both knew that talking was overrated, and that we'd take things as they came. She ended up sleeping over... but not in THAT way. She was too tired in every sense of the word. So, she crawled into bed next to me, and I just held her until we both fell asleep. Let's just say my dreams that night were pretty damn pleasant.

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	2. What IS this?

**Title: **It Was Meant To Be

**Genre:** Romance  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> RIZZLES!

**Summary:** In the course of 4 years, Jane's life has changed in more ways than she ever could've imagined.

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes: **So far so good I guess. If you haven't read my stuff before, know that I AVIDLY read comments and take EVERYTHING you all say to heart. It really means a lot to know people are reading and enjoying my stuff! Your concerns made me laugh. What I have to say is, don't worry about anything just yet? Gotta trust me a little. You REALLY think I'd make Maura some floozy? Come on! You obviously need to get to know me. ANYWHO, on to ch 2! 

Needless to say, that family dinner and that night on my couch with Maura were two events that undoubtedly changed my life, but for reasons I had yet to discover.

I awoke the next morning with my arms full of the ME, and realized that nothing I had ever done had felt so right. Just laying there, with my chin resting on top of her head, breathing her in and thinking about nothing in particular... that was, and is, perfection.

I slowly removed myself from her, and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and do my business. Part of this felt surreal. Was I dreaming? Did I want to wake up? The answer was a no to both, and I knew it.

I carefully laid down next to her, trying not to wake her with my movements. When I finally settled in on my back next to her, I began to think.

I was hoping that when she did awaken, that things wouldn't be awkward. That was my biggest fear. What were we going to say to each other? Nothing really happened, but something has definitely change? What is this? Where is this going? What do I even SAY?

I felt her snuggle into my shoulder, and her legs extended along mine to allow her to stretch herself awake. I smiled, and silently hoped for the universe to be on my side for once... and it was.

I felt her lightly kiss my neck and smiled. She hadn't forgotten anything, and wasn't denying what happened. All good signs. When she tightened her arms grip around my waist to rest her forehead against my collarbone, I silently thanked the heavens that she wasn't pushing me away. I ultimately decided that the sooner I broke the silence, the sooner I could stop worrying.

"Morning sleepyhead."

She hummed, and began moving her hand in soft circles along my stomach. "Morning," she hummed sleepily from against me.

We lay there in silence for a while, just simply taking it all in. I felt so foolish. This wasn't the first time Maura had slept over and we had ended up cuddled into each other. I was freaking out over nothing, right? WRONG. Those other times were FRIENDLY sleepovers. We had kissed... a lot. I think this time it was a little bit more than friendly... but what WAS it?

"Hey Maura... I know it's still early and you're probably not awake yet, but I've been up for a while and have had some time to let my mind wander..."

I felt her stiffen ever so slightly, so I began stroking my thumb along the side of her waist, which worked in relaxing her a little.

"Have you?" She asked simply. I could tell that she was scared, but also curious about what kind of conclusion I had come to. So, I decided to just let it all out.

"Yea, I have. Don't be scared, it's nothing to be worried about. But... I'm just... confused."

I felt her head nod slightly, and decided to continue.

"Yesterday was... a lot. Between Tommy's mess and whatever this is, I just don't know what to think. BUT, I do know that I like this change, whatever it means. But that's my main question, Maur. What IS this? What are we now?"

I heard her sigh, as she propped herself up on her elbow to look at me. She smiled sweetly, and kissed my cheek, before whispering her answer into my ear. "I don't know, Jane, and I have to admit that it scares me." She took a deep breath, before lifting herself back up to look me in the eye. "What do you want this to be, Jane?"

I looked at her for a moment, trying to search her eyes for the answer to her question. I shook my head and shrugged. What DID I want? At that time, I really didn't know. But I did know one thing, I had liked that night's... change of pace, if you will. I had been harboring deep romantic feelings for some time for the woman that I then had wrapped in my arms. I knew I wanted something more, something non-platonic with her. I just wasn't sure how to go about it.

"I want to try, Maura. I want to be able to kiss you, and hold you, and just be like this whenever I please. I want to take you places and show you things and read the Sunday paper with you, and laugh about stupid stuff, and get angry over coasters. I want all of that, Maura. I just, I'm not the best at this sort of thing, and I don't even know where to begin. I don't want to lose you, that's for sure. But I want to see where this goes. Are you okay with that?"

She hadn't moved much during my monologue, only to begin stroking my arm. Her eyes had misted over, she had donned the cutest smile I had ever seen, and she nodded her response, seeming to be unable to say anything.

I nodded back, smiling a goofy smile right back I'm sure, and ran my fingers down the side of her face. This was really happening. Someone could've pinched me at that moment and I wouldn't have felt a thing. I was so absorbed in the moment of realization and fascination that a cow could've busted through my wall and I probably wouldn't have seen it.

She leaned down to kiss me gently, before disentangling herself from me, and striding to the bathroom. I sat up in bed, and had to give myself a mini pep talk.

_Come on Rizzoli. You can do this. This is MAURA. She's your best friend. It will be okay. You GOT this. She has feelings for you. You're FINALLY living out your fantasy. This could be the break of a lifetime! You gotta stop worrying and just go for it. What if she's "it"? Don't let this opportunity pass you by, Rizzoli!_

When she stepped out of the bathroom, I had already changed out of my pajamas and into shorts and a tank. She walked up to me slowly and pulled me into a hug. We had to have stood there for a good ten minutes, just simply holding each other. If this was her way of telling me that everything was alright, it was working. When she pulled away, I kissed her gently on the lips, and then on the forehead.

"I need coffee and food. Care to join?"

She nodded her response, but then looked down at my oversized teeshirt that currently served as her pajamas, and shook her head.

"You go ahead. I'm going to change."

I nodded, kiss her quickly, and made my way to the kitchen.

That morning was filled with the usual friendly banter and teasing that normally would fill out conversations, but we also seemed to touch each other a lot more. If the new development meant I could get away with touching Maura more often, I figured I could deal with whatever else it would bring.


	3. I'm a Jack O Lantern?

**Title: **It Was Meant To Be

**Genre:** Romance  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> RIZZLES!

**Summary:** In the course of 4 years, Jane's life has changed in more ways than she ever could've imagined.

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes: **Warning to readers: It's REALLY typical for me to update a LOT within the first few days, and then as I go start waiting longer and longer between chapters. College and life and writer's block tends to get in the way. SO, just be ready for that. Also, thank you, you amazing reviewers! I truly, truly, truly look forward to those emails telling me what you think. I read EVERY one, so don't think your words don't matter, because to me, they DEFINITELY do. Now, I have NO idea where I'm going with this chapter, so... thanks for coming along for the ride! Here goes nothing!

Without anyone knowing, we started up a relationship. I know I was terrified, and I could see in Maura's eyes that she was, too. But, we decided to take it slow and one step at a time, which ended up working out just fine. It really wasn't an abnormal courtship. We already did everything together, but instead of as friends, it was a girlfriends.

We met Tommy's mystery girl at a little over three months into our relationship. He had ACTUALLY gone with her to get an ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby, which was a girl believe it or not. The family was thrilled to have a little girl to pamper and dress up. Frankie and I became determined to make her a tomboy.

When we met Scarlet, we were all stunned. She was a beautiful girl, thin, slightly shorter than Maura. Her hair was dirty blonde, long, flowing. But there was something wrong about her. Not with her personality, though. After one meeting, I was sure that Tommy had managed to actually get lucky. But she seemed... tired. Physically, she just seemed not so well.

Maura simply propositioned that the nausea and insomnia that can often occur in early pregnancy could be the cause. I wasn't so sure, but until I was, I wasn't going to be the one to ruin everyone's happiness.

Maura and I had exclusively been together almost four months, and we were surprised at how well we managed to hide things. No one questioned us arriving to work together. Maura already regularly attended family events, and increasing our number of all nighters was simply attributed to having trouble sleeping alone, which was actually becoming true. And no, we didn't just jump into bed together, although it was a tempting offer. Maura and I figured out very quickly that we enjoyed "heavy petting," which sometimes put our "we're going to wait" strategy to the test. But the night before our three month mark ended up changing a lot of things between the two of us, and between us and everyone we knew.

She had come over after work and feeding Bass like she usually did. I had a beer, and she had wine. A typical night. We had had a particularly trying case that week. A little girl had been kidnapped, tortured and kill slowly and painfully two months ago while her parents were avidly searching for her. Kid cases were always tough. Luckily, we got the bad guy, but not before long sleepless nights of being trapped in the bullpen and chasing meaningless leads. It left us very little time to be together outside of work, but we both new priorities came first.

We really didn't have much to say to each other. Just simply being in each others' company, holding each other on the couch in silence, was enough.

She had settled against me, her head snuggled into its favorite place on my shoulder. I felt her shoulders slowly begin to shake, and starting hearing sniffles. She was gasping, trying to hold back the emotions she had been holding in for the duration of the case.

"Maura," I began, gently stroking her arm, "It's okay. It's just me. You can let it out. I won't judge you."

And that's what did it. The floodgates erupted and she began to sob heavily into my neck. I pulled her closer to me, trying to reassure her that it was okay to cry, and that it was better to let it all out. She must've sobbed for twenty minutes. I just sat there, my heart breaking at her distress.

I wasn't numb to the situation. My heart had broken right along with everyone else's over that little girl. But chasing the bad guy, the adrenaline it course through my system, the look in his eyes when he knows he's caught, that's enough for me to feel okay about everything.

Maura didn't experience the cases like I did. I got the thrill of the chase, and the victory of the bad guy's defeat. Maura just got to hear everything second hand, and had to deal with it in her own way. If that meant she got angry and threw things, if that meant she needed alone time, or if that meant the need her eyes out, Jane was okay with putting up with that.

When she finally had cried all her tears, I hugged her to me as tight as I possibly could without smothering her. I felt her grip my back for dear life, and I kissed the side of her head in response, which caused her death grip to loosen. When she finally pulled back to look up at me, my heart broke even more at the sight of her puffy, watery eyes and tear stained cheeks.

She smiled weakly and mouthed a "thank you" to which I nodded and mouthed an "I love you". I wiped the tears from her face, and kissed her gently. I pulled back to place my forehead against hers, but only a fraction of a second after I moved away, she pulled me back into a kiss, just as passionate as the first but increasingly more demanding.

When she pulled away after the kiss for air, I looked into her eyes and noticed they were at least two shades darker than their usually bright hazel. I gasped, knowing that this meant she was aroused. I stared at her for a second, knowing that I wanted nothing more than to shower every inch of her with kisses. I knew that after the week we had experienced that she needed this, and so did I. I decided, looking into the hurt and the need and the love in her eyes, that I wasn't going to hold back anymore. If being loved is what she needed, than that was what I was going to do.

Once I realized how long it had been since I had spoken or shown any sort of response, Maura was looking at me with concern. I just smiled and shook my head. I stood up, offering my hand to her. She took it slowly, and interlaced her fingers into mine. She looked up at me, asking the silent question I knew was coming. "Are you sure?" I caressed her face, kissed her sweetly, and nodded, turning around to lead her to my bedroom.

We reached the doorway, and I motioned for her to lead the way. She stepped forward, and I shut and locked the door behind us. When I turned around she was sitting with her legs crossed in the middle of my bed, sans clothing. I'm sure my jaw dropped for a second, but I quickly picked it up off of the floor, and decided "to hell with it." I shed my own clothing under her watchful gaze and made my way to her. I smiled, and crawled into bed to sit facing in front of her, crossing my legs to match hers. She held my hands in hers, waiting, wanting me to make the first move. So, I kissed her, long and hard.

Once we remembered to breathe, I was on top of her, holding her head in my hand, and running the other down her side. Her hands were roaming along my back and upper arms, trying to pull me as close to her as possible.

I'll never forget how slow and deliberate that first time was. It was like.. we wanted to memorize every inch of each other, which I'm pretty sure both of us managed to do. When my lips weren't somewhere on her body, hers were somewhere on mine, and that's the way it went for a while, until Maura, who managed to get on top of me, started grinding into my upper thigh ever so slowly.

I felt it before I saw it, gasping at the feeling. She smiled mischievously at me, knowing full well that she was about to start something neither of us would be able to stop. I smirked up at her, nodding slowly to acknowledge that I knew what she was doing.

She leaned forward to kiss me, and as she did, I felt her fingers enter me slowly: another feeling I will never forget nor tire of. I gasped and she smiled into my lips as she slowly pulled her fingers in and out. Her pace was ALMOST too slow, but it was just fast enough to create a friction that was soon driving me nuts. I tried bucking my hips into her hand, but she put her free hand on top of me to hold me down. I grunted my frustration, which caused her to laugh heartily. I squinted my eyes at her, and kissed my lips chastely before picking up the pace a little.

As she sped up the movements of her hand, her hips movements against my thigh, which had never stopped, picked up to meet the pace she was setting. I moved one hand to still her hips, as I slipped the other under her to pleasure her. She gasped as she lowered onto my fingers, and soon my hand and hers were both occupied at beating out the same rhythm.

Her hips started to move wildly as my hand tried to keep pace with her. As soon as her hand sped up to meet her body's new rhythm, it wasn't hard for me to follow suit.

Our bodies were thrashing against each other, picking up this insane rhythm that neither of us thought was fast enough.

"Jane..." she whispered. Something else I will never forget nor tire of.

"Let go, Maura. Come on..." And with that, her head dropped onto my chest as every muscle in her body began to contract and her noises became gasps and whimpers. I heard my name weak on her lips, and found myself following her into ecstasy.

When I reluctantly came back to my senses, Maura was showering light kisses along my collarbone, her body still pleasantly weighing atop my own. After about five minutes of just lying there taking it all in, she sat up onto her elbows slowly and scooted herself up my body to become eye level.

"Hi," she said with a shy smile. I chuckled in response, and began to run my hand down the side of her face gently.

"Hey there," I replied, causing her smile to widen. She kissed me gently, and nuzzled her face into my neck, gently kissing the skin she found there.

I smiled at her gentleness and continued my hands slow rubbing of her back.

"Jane?" she asked from her current position against me.

"What, sweetheart?"

"Just so you know, I love you, too."

I smiled, remembering our earlier moment on the couch. I nodded my head, and nuzzled her with my cheek.

Those three little words seemed to change meaning all the time.

The first we had ever said it to each other was as friends. It's what brought us closer together. Then there was the night about two months into out relationship (yes, before meeting Tommy's girl) when we were simply sitting at my table talking after a relatively boring day at work.

We talked about everything from why people love baseball so much to if unicorns really did exist somewhere in the world. We had laughed a lot at our utter ridiculousness that night, and I had ended up laughing, grabbing her hands, and muttering the "l word" after a particularly cute comment from her about unicorns being horny.

One second we were lightheartedly joking around, and the next it got so serious that I'm sure you could hear a feather hit the floor. Her smile suddenly turned serious, making me realize the words that I had said without even thinking about it. I meant them, in every since of the word, so I repeated them, confirming to both her and myself that it wasn't just a slip of the tongue.

The smile beamed across her face again, this time bigger and brighter than before, and she squeezed my hands, which were still in hers. "I love you too, Jane," came from her lips..and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped. I guess I really need to make a list of the things she does that I'll never tire of. I think it's getting a little long now, huh?

But then, after the night we had made love, it took on another meaning. We had just shared the most private parts of ourselves with each other and had, together, experienced the ultimate sense of pleasure. When she said it that night, it was as if she was saying, "Now I've seen every piece of you, and I love it all."

The whole next day at work, Frost and Korsak kept shooting Maura and me these weird looks. It's like they KNEW. When Maura had come down to the bullpen with me to eat lunch like she sometimes did, Frost and Korsak were sniggering and whispering like little girls. When she left I finally confronted them about what exactly they thought they knew.

"Jane, you are glowing like a Jack-O-Lantern, and it seems to be directly correlated to the presence of a certain doctor. Fess up," Frost demanded. Maura and I had talked about this not too long ago. If people asked, we answered truthfully. So, I sighed and admitted that Maura and I were in relationship and had been for a little while.

They were actually shocked that they had missed the signs. Then of course, they wanted to know who knew. Then came the congratulations and the promises of an increase in teasing, but also privacy, which I respected. I had texted Maura to tell her what happened, and that this might be a ripple effect on everyone else knowing. Boy was I right.

The news soon got around to Frankie, who just about flipped out. He was happy, but he was almost offended we had kept the news from him. He finally got the message when I mentioned our mother and how much pressure Maura and I would be under from her, or if she would even accept us. Frankie swore not to tell, but just like Frost and Korsak, he had been unable to keep Ma from overhearing.

That night over dinner, Maura and I got a very loud and very outspoken phone call from my mother which truthfully, I was expecting. But, she didn't get mad over me being gay. Apparently that didn't matter to her. What mattered was "that you would keep something of this magnitude from your own mother."

Other than that, the phone call had actually gone relatively well. She approved of our relationship and of course told us that we weren't exempt from her marriage and grandkids requirement, and that even though she may not completely understand out choice, that she was glad her babies were happy.

And for the most part, we were. We were happy and in love and finally felt like something in our personal lives was working. But two simple words always had us on the edge: Tommy Rizzoli

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	4. Mia

**Title: **It Was Meant To Be

**Genre:** Romance  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> RIZZLES!

**Summary:** In the course of 4 years, Jane's life has changed in more ways than she ever could've imagined.

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes: **Hello all. So, not as many reviews as last time. I'm telling you, the more I get the sooner I update, so keep them coming. I listen to what you all say, I promise! Here's to another chapter!

Tommy really had found a great girl in Scarlet. His change was phenomenal. He was this responsible attentive boyfriend and I had to love the girl for bringing that out in him. But, as her pregnancy wore on, that suspicion I had about her welfare only intensified. Every time I saw her, her stomach was bigger and her health was worse. I could see the whole family's concern for her, but both Tommy and Scarlet denied that anything serious was going on and that it was just the pregnancy taking its toll on her. Even Maura, who had before thought it was just the pregnancy, thought that something was very wrong with Scarlet. So, I left it alone... which ended up being a terrible decision.

When little Amelia was born, Scarlet's poor body couldn't take it, and she died in childbirth. I don't think I've ever seen Tommy so deflated in my life. That happy go lucky father-to-be attitude completed plummeted and he moped everywhere. He really was in love with Scarlet, and had been making plans for them in the future that would now never be achieved.

But Mia, which is what everyone called the baby, was absolutely beautiful. Frankie and I, who were deemed her godparents, were just ecstatic at her utter loveliness. My mother knew that because of what happened to Scarlet, that Tommy was in no shape to take care of the infant by himself. So, Ma, Frankie, Maura, and I all decided we had to use the village to raise a child and did just that. We all made sure to rotate our time off so that little Mia had proper care at all hours.

It was rough the first few months because she needed round the clock feedings. Once she started to sleep through the night, everyone got a lot less stressed and we managed to find a nice method of taking care of her.

Being an aunt was something I had never really thought about. But Mia was amazing. Her eyes were just a little darker than my own with her mother's hair. She was, and is a beautiful child. I secretly adored my shift taking care of her (after the sleeping all night milestone that is). Working Homicide, we get the bad ends of the deal. We see death all the time, and having this little reminder of life that made cute noises was just the extra push I wasn't aware I needed.

Maura and I started to overlap our rounds with the baby to spend some much needed time together. The stress of Scarlet's death, the crazy schedule of work and Mia's needs just didn't allow us to see each other much outside of the office. Maura was just as enamored with Mia as I was. Seeing Maura with her was... I can't even describe. I had never really thought about having a family before, but seeing Maura, who just glowed pride when she held her made me start thinking.

I thought I was crazy. Maura and I had only been together officially for about 10 months, and I was already thinking long term. But that's what she did to me. Frost and Korsak always teased me about being whipped, and I was and still am, and I'm not ashamed to admit it to anyone. Maura has always had me captivated by her sheer presence. I'd willingly give up my life to save hers, which she isn't so thrilled about, but anywho...

When Mia was about four months old, Maura and I moved in together. We already house hopped and we realized that it was just a hassle to have two separate places, so, why not? We ended up in a nice three bedroom house not very far from where we were located before. With Mia being such a big part of our lives, we wanted to make sure we had plenty of room for her, and I think both of us secretly knew that there was a possibility of expanding our own family. So, we went with the three bedrooms and an office for the frequent times we brought files home with us to do reports for.

Mia started staying over at our house more and more over the next year. We really loved having her over, and I knew she overwhelmed Ma sometimes with the amount of attention she needed. Between myself, Maura, and Frankie who also frequently had Mia stay with him, Mia got the love and care we all knew she desperately needed.

Tommy tried. He really did. But that slump that Scarlet's death put him in never really went away. He had happy days, and when he did, he spent them with his daughter and family. But the majority of his time was spent alone, grieving, and then we mutually decided where Mia was to stay until he was able to function again.

Maura and I decided to get married 2 months before Mia's first birthday. We were just laying on the couch together one evening, my back against the couch and her back against my front, baby monitor on the table, watching some singing competition show that we both liked. Mia started screaming, and Maura shot up like a bullet, me not far behind. She was hungry and saw a bottle sitting on the changing table and was angry she couldn't reach it.

I watched as Maura picked up the now furious Mia, who visibly relaxed at her touch. We had put a mini fridge in the nursery for convenience, and it was probably one of the best ideas ever. Maura didn't have to leave the room to fill and warm the bottle. She fed and rocked Mia, and I sat in front of her, holding the baby's hand that had somehow managed to death grip my finger.

I had been thinking about proposing to Maura for a while, and actually carried the ring in my pocket for most of the two months I had it just in case the perfect opportunity arose. I was of course thinking about some utterly romantic moment over candles. But sitting there with a tiny hand around my finger, and Maura's occasional smile up at me, I knew that nothing was better.

"Maura..." I began. She looked up at me, waiting for me to continue, but I couldn't just do this the way I had wanted to. She was feeding the baby. I had no idea how to go about this, but I decided that it was now or never and fumbled my way through it.

"Where do you see us in five years?" was what came out of my mouth, which I thought wasn't a bad question to ask. She cocked her head to the side in that adorable way that she does, and thought about her answer.

"I can't predict the future, Jane," she said. I shook my head and grinned. Of course she would be literal.

"Let me rephrase then. Where would you LIKE to see us in five years?"

She sighed heavily, moving the baby to burp her. "I haven't thought about the specifics, honey. But, if I had my way, I really wouldn't want five years from now to be too different than now. I'm happy, we're happy, everything has settled into place and I want it to stay that way."

I smiled. I was hoping she'd say something like that. But I needed to know if marriage and possibly a family was really what she wanted. We had of course talked about it briefly before, but never in a full length conversation. We had come to the consensus that if it happens, it happens.

But I knew that I saw marriage and a family for us, and if she didn't... I was terrified.

"When we bought this house, why did we go for the three bedrooms instead of two?"

She smiled at Mia, who was no sleeping peacefully in her arms, and looked up at me with a twinkle in her eyes. "Well, we needed room for this little one. We both know that she's going to be over here quite often."

I nodded, knowing that what she said was partially true. "But why three bedrooms, not two?"

She looked at me quizzically, not sure why I was asking her all these questions. "I guess I've always had plans for kids of my own, Jane. And I'm pretty sure that even though we haven't OFFICIALLY talked about this, that you do, too. Am I right?"

I nodded in response, looking intently at the sleeping infant who now had a hold of Maura's hand instead of mine.

"What's with all the questions, Jane?" she finally asked, bring her full attention to me.

I shifted a little under her gaze, but decided to finish what I had started. "I had never really put too much thought into getting married and having a family until you. And now with little Mia to take care of, I have the thoughts more often. I see you with her and I know that it's what I want. I want us to get married and have kids and be a family, Maura."

Her eyes had misted over a little, and the soft smile she had worn before had turned into a full blown grin. I smiled back as her hand moved to cup my face. She nodded, saying, "I want that too, Jane."

I'm pretty sure I died in that moment. She tends to do that to me. It was all... just... right. My family was her family, we lived together, and together were practically raising my niece. Sure, there were some big issues to take care of. Life in and of itself is never completely perfect, and we knew that. So, we knew that in moments like these where you forgot about all the bad and truly did believe it was flawless, you had to take those moments and find a way to savor them. A lot of times, we didn't know how to do that. But this time was different.

"Yea?" I finally replied to her after a few minutes of being at a complete loss of words.

She nodded in response grinning sweetly at me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the pouch that had been sitting there for months, and saw her eyes go wide. I grabbed her right hand, which was the one currently uninhabited by the baby.

"Marry me," was all that would come out. After all that preparation, the speeches that went through my head and the perfect scenarios, those two words were all I could say. But apparently they were enough, because I saw a tear roll down her cheek, and her smile was the brightest I think I'd ever seen it up to that point.

She nodded, muttering a quiet, "Of course," and I could see her trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. She switched that baby's weight to the other arm, and I placed the ring on her finger, kissing her hand afterward. I kissed her softly, and placed my head against her shoulder, releasing the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

Mia shifted her weight, causing me to lift my head to look at her. I smiled, motioning to take her. Maura gently placed her in my arms, and I stood to place her back into her bed. Maura came up behind me, wrapping her arms around my middle, and kissing my neck. I turned around, and pulled her into a tight hug.

I pulled away, kissed her gently, and grabbed her hand. We left the nursery, grabbed the monitor from the table, and went to bed. As much as she and I both wanted to celebrate, so to speak, we were exhausted and were content just holding each other for the night, knowing we had the rest of our lives to plan for.

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	5. Delicious Snacks

**Title: **It Was Meant To Be

**Genre:** Romance  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> RIZZLES!

**Summary:** In the course of 4 years, Jane's life has changed in more ways than she ever could've imagined.

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes:** Thank you reviewers! I'm maybe thinking about a one-shot next time. Not sure... I usually have a LOT to say about these 2. But, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoy it. There's still a few more chapters in this one, so let's do this!

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><p>Telling Ma that Maura and I were getting married was... intense. She flipped out, jumping up and down, dragging us into countless hugs. She and Maura were the planners, they sat down night after night at the table discussing plans, making arrangements. I listened intently, only speaking if there was something that I didn't like. It was nice to see my mother and Maura together. They had always gotten along. The day Maura became my best friend was the day she was adopted into the family, and it had remained that way throughout our relationship.<p>

Everyone that knew us, or knew of us, was excited for the affair. Well... except poor Tommy. Of course he was excited, but he just couldn't get past his pain to be truly happy. In an effort to help, we made Mai, who was then about a year and a half old, the flower girl. She had just learned to walk and it was about the cutest thing I had ever seen.

Maura and I were determined to keep it a small, intimate wedding, while my mother was set on having all of Boston there. With the family's support, we managed to talk Ma into down sizing her idea on the event and the wedding was a lovely affair.

To my mother's dismay, I wore a suit. I have always and will always hate dresses (only sometimes, usually because of Maura, am I okay with them). I hadn't seen Maura's dress. My mother insisted on keeping the old fashioned traditions of a not so old fashioned wedding, which was alright by me. Let me just say this before I go into the next point. Ever since day one, I've thought Maura was the loveliest thing to walk the planet. She dressed impeccably, always smelt nice, was kind, generous, loving, and looked amazing. She has always been this entity of perfection to me, and I never thought that I would question all those times that I had seen her and thought "God, she is so beautiful."

But... seeing her in the dress... I just cannot describe the glow emanating from her. I had never seen anyone ever look like she did in that moment. She outdid herself on my list of perfection. Her smile was beaming, and she walked confidently, with Korsak at her side, her gaze never once leaving mine.

Of course we had rehearsed the wedding. I was prepared. No big deal, right? Yea... It almost feels like you aren't really there. I became so wrapped up in my love for Maura that I just wanted to get the Hell out of there and get the Honeymoon started.

But, I obviously went through with the wedding, and the moment our marriage became official was one of the happiest in my life. I know that's so cliché, but when you hear that the person you know you'll be with for the rest of your life is TRULY yours, in every sense of the word, it strikes a chord.

The reception was also amazing. I finally got to relax with Maura and the family and friends we had invited, and got to eat and just take everything in. I really don't think my hand left Maura's the entire evening. For me it was a, "I just got you, and I'm not letting you go just yet," thing. Her touch was also comforting, and in a hectic situation such as a wedding, it's nice to have someone that knows you and can relax you merely with a touch. Frost, Frankie, Korsak, and my parents all gave speeches. It really was nice, and I have to admit that I might have gotten a little teary at some of the things they said. It really was everything I thought it was going to be, and more.

And then, the Honeymoon... We had the wedding earlier in the day (more of a lunch event) because we were determined to leave that night for our trip. We hadn't had a vacation from work in a long time, especially together, and knew that we needed it both as a getaway from the stress of everyday, but in order to celebrate a little to ourselves.

We ended up cruising to the Bahamas. She and I had both been there previously (separately, of course) and loved it so much that we had a desire to go back. So, when the wedding was over, we went home, I carried her in, we changed, a heavy make-out session ensued, and we left to fly to Tampa, which is where our ship was docked.

We got on the ship, unpacked everything, went through the safety drills (which any normal person could've figured out by, say, a picture diagram. Stupid drills...) and finally got a chance to huddle ourselves away from the rest of the world. Before our drill, we met the man who would be our room service attendant. He was one of the nicest men I had ever met, and continued to be so for the duration of the trip. His name was Abraham*, born in Jamaica and thoroughly invested into making our stay fantastic.

He shook our hands, wished us a happy stay, wanted to know what he could do for us, all of that routine stuff. Maura and I both shook our heads, heading toward the side of the ship we were demanded to go to. But I stopped, told Maura that I'd catch up, and ran back to talk to him.

"Hey, Abraham, listen. She and I just got married."

"I could kind of tell that from you two being in the Honeymoon suite, ma'am."

I nodded and smiled, "Of course. But, I really want to do something nice for her, but I'm not sure what resources are available to me here."

Abraham smiled widely at me, and placed his hand against my arm. "You don't worry about that, Jane. I'll take care of everything," he said with a wink, and I nodded my thank you, running at the sound of Maura calling my name from the opposite side of the foyer.

That trip was something I'll never forget. That first night especially. When we got back to the room, Abraham had sprinkled it with roses, put out some flameless candles, gave us some strawberries and chocolate... the whole nine yards. I smiled at his gesture, and my smile grew wider when I saw Maura's jaw hit the floor. I quickly shut and locked the door behind us, and turned around to Maura still staring at the arrangement. I walked up behind her slowly, placing my arms around her waist, and kissed her neck lightly.

When she turned her body around to face me, the look she gave me... I can't even describe, but I guess I'll have to try. It wasn't pure hunger. That's a different look, but there was definitely some desire in her eyes. But there was also excitement, shock, happiness, and the most ever apparent was love. Every time Maura looked at me with love in her eyes made me want to just kiss her until I was blue in the face. But this look, this look made me want to do a LOT more.

"You like, huh?"

She nodded slightly as her hands came to rest around my neck and mine went to her waist. She kissed me chastely, said, "I like a lot, Jane," and then kissed me again, the second time with more intent. I backed her up, easing her to sit on the bed. I stood in front of her for a second, just observing her. She smiled up at me, and pulled me down for another kiss. She let me go and scooted herself back away from the edge of the bed and sat up against the headboard, waiting for me to join her. As I crawled to her, I noticed the bucket of strawberries and the bowl of chocolate sauce that was on a warming plate. As I made my way to her, my body settling between her legs, and began kissing her neck, the desire to take advantage of the sweet fruit concoction became overwhelming.

I nibbled her ear, causing her to moan lightly, and asked, "Up for a little snack before play time?"

I pulled away to look at her, and shifted my gaze toward the fruit and chocolate on the side table. Her gaze followed mine, and she instinctively licked her lips. I took that as a yes. So, with it being in my reach, I took a strawberry, dipped in in the thick sauce, and carefully fed it to her. Honestly, one of the hottest things EVER.

She was teasing me and she knew it. She ate it ever so slowly, making sure to accentuate the way her lips moved over it, and moaning at the taste. She was driving me nuts with pleasure, just her favorite thing to do.

"You don't want any, Jane?" she asked after sucking the chocolate off of one of them, and then proceeding to eat it.

I nodded, now as worked up as I'd ever been. It was taking all of my self control to feed her instead of kiss her, and I was done waiting. When she leaned over, I grabbed her arm gently to stop her, and shook my head. She was confused, and cocked her head to the side, raising her eyebrows in question.

I simply leaned forward and kissed her, hard. I'm pretty sure she got the message, as she began kissing me back. I gently scooted back, and lowered her onto the bed to lie underneath me.

I soon felt her hands stripping me of my clothes, and pulled away from her to remove everything at once, tiring of the inconvenience of her body not being against mine. I looked at her, and saw her sit up to follow suit, both of us wanting to remove all of the barriers between us.

I moved back up to her, and we just looked at each other for a second. She smiled widely, and I smirked, noting the true happiness spread across her face. She reached up to cup my face, as I nuzzled into her hand, kissing it lightly.

She pulled me down to kiss her softly, before stopping the kiss for air. I rested my forehead against hers for a minute, just savoring the feeling of her all around me. I was broken from my thoughts by a gentle, "Jane..." from below me.

"Hmm.." I replied, kissing her jaw.

"I love you, Jane," she says sweetly, with so much tenderness and emotion in her voice that I almost cried. ALMOST.

I looked at her again, my eyes surely glazed over from the tears that threatened to fall. I gently stroked her cheek, and ran my fingers through her hair. "I love you too, Maura. Always."

She motioned at me to roll over, which I granted her, and soon she was on top of me, her lips and hands everywhere they could reach. The sensations this woman creates are like nothing I had ever felt before. The combination of her soft hands applying slight pressure all over my body, and her mouth that kissed me everywhere she could was tantalizing, and amazing.

When she made her way to my upper thigh, I stopped her. She looked up at me, and I shook my head, reaching out my hand to pull her up to me. When she did, I flipped us over, taking my turn at kissing her body.

Her skin is so soft under my slightly rough hands. As I explore her body, I feel her moving underneath me in response to my touches. I slipped my leg in between hers, and situated my center a top her thigh. As I kissed her lips, I began to slowly grind into her, causing her to moan deeply. She began to do the same, and soon we were engulfed in this delicious friction, just simply enjoying the feeling of our skin pressing together.

She started whimpering under me. A gentle, "Jane..." escaped her lips. I looked up at her and saw the desperation in her eyes. I started moving myself against her faster, setting up an incredibly rapid pace with my hips. I felt the fingers that had come to rest on my pelvic bone tighten their grip. I momentarily closed my eyes at the overwhelming sensations being caused by our movements. As I felt my own release approaching, I opened my eyes to meet an intense set of hazel ones staring into my soul. I gently stroked her cheek, nodding slightly to her unspoken question, and I held her as her body began to shake, only slightly releasing her as my own orgasm ripped through my body.

After laying there for what seemed like an eternity trying to catch my breath, I felt soft lips press to my right ear. I kissed the shoulder that my cheek was resting against, and hugged my body tighter to the one below me. Maura sleepily kissed my temple, as I raised up on my elbow to look at her. "I love you," I murmured softly before gently kissing her lips.

"Sleep now, talk later," she muttered against my lips, causing me to smile and nod my agreement, before kissing her again and easing myself on my side next to her to rest my head against her collarbone and drifting off into sleep.

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><p>*When I went on my cruise to the Bahamas in '05, my room attendant's name was Abraham Lincoln (no lie) and he was of Jamaican decent. By the end of the first day, he called my grandmother "Annie" (what we all addressed her as), knew what chocolates to leave for who, and that my favorite animal was the elephant, which he proceeded to make out of washcloths for me regularly. Felt I need to give him his dues.<p>

Secondly, sorry for the update delay. I've had SO much to do lately, and have been lacking a little of the inspiration I usually possess. But luckily, this was PRETTY finished when I finally decided to go back to work today.


	6. Is everything ok?

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes: **Sorry it takes my so long to update! I do appreciate all the kind words, and I promise that EVERYTHING you say is read and appreciated.

Another note: I

For convenience purposes, I've decided to forgo all of the meaningless story info I usually put here. I mean, it already says it (other than the summary). But anyhow, A/n is all you get.

3: Some of you are just SO anxious to predict the outcome! (laughs) I'm glad to see you're so invested, and I have to say that you are all very smart. But, just pretend like I didn't say anything, ok?

I apologize in advance for the sadness in this chapter. I knew this was what was going to happen when I started this fic. Sorry!

Now, on to the next installment!

Our marriage has been just like any other, really. I mean, the job definitely adds a stress on our relationship, and sure we argue over the littlest things sometimes, but we have a few rules. 1. Never go to bed angry. 2. Never leave without an "I love you" and 3. Keep communication open, and remember that sometimes words aren't necessary.

I guess the next big event in our lives would be about a year into our marriage. Mia was fully active, running EVERYWHERE, wearing all of us out. But, she was gaining a personality, and a fiery one. She had just passed the 2.5 year mark, and we were itching for relief from the "terrible twos".

One night, Mia was curled up with Jo on the floor of my and Maura's home, just simply keeping herself occupied with petting the furry animal. Maura and I were sitting on the couch watching our usual prime time television, keeping an eye on the steadily relaxing toddler. When she finally succumbed to the slumber she had been resisting, I excused myself to lay her down in the room of the house she had taken over. I returned to a pair of welcoming arms on the couch, and Maura curled up into my side, resting her head in its usual spot on my shoulder. We were startled from our comfortable position on the couch by the ringing of my cellphone. It was my mother's ring tone, and Maura sat up gently to let me grab the offending piece of plastic.

"What Ma?" I answered, not too thrilled at the interruption of my otherwise peaceful evening. Maura playfully slapped my arm in response, telling my to be nice. Realizing Ma hadn't said anything, but was sniffling terribly, I stopped my playful banter, growing concerned. I sat up, "Ma? Is everything ok?"

Maura sat up at the change in my demeanor, and waited patiently as I finally got a reply. "No, Janie. Tommy's had an accident. It's not looking good, honey." I swallowed hard, standing up to make my way hurriedly to my bedroom, Maura hot on my heels. "Where are you?"

"We're at the ER, Janie. Hurry, and bring Mia." With a click, I set down the phone on the bed, hastily undressing from my pajamas and into sweat pants and a comfortable tee shirt, not knowing how long I'd be gone. Turning, I saw Maura also changing into comfortable clothes, obviously gathering some sort of info from the situation. When she finally looked up at me, I saw the concern and worry in her eyes. "Who, Jane?"

"Tommy." She nodded, slipping a pair of running shoes, also knowing she needed comfort of appearance this time.

"How bad?" she inquired, pulling her hair into a loose bun.

"Not good, apparently." I said, shrugging, not knowing much else. "Mom said to bring Mia, but don't wake her up if you can help it." Maura nodded at this, leaving to retrieve the resting child from her bed.

After successfully strapping her in without waking her, we rushed as fast as the speed limit would allow (and a little more) to the Beth Israel ER. I gently removed a still sleeping Mia from her seat, and Maura grabbed our things as we rushed into the hospital to find my family.

I immediately saw them all in the back corner, accompanied by Frost and Korsak, who might as well be related to us, eagerly awaiting our arrival, and news on Tommy. Ma saw us first, and stood, causing all the others to look up to see what the commotion was. She gently kissed my cheek, then Mia's, and then Maura's, gesturing for us to sit down with everyone.

We got sad and tired hellos from everyone, 10 o' clock after a long day wearing down on all of us. I sat, Maura next to me, and positioned Mia comfortably in my lap, and waited to be filled in.

"He went out earlier. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I thought maybe letting him out of the house was a good idea, you know? Let him get some air, see some different people for the first time in ages. If I had known..." Ma said, gently starting to sob.

"Ma, you gotta tell me what happened," I said, watching as Maura's hand made it's way to my mother's back to comfort her.

"He got wasted Jane. Go figure, right? God, he should have been smart enough to call for someone to pick him up..." Frankie said with sadness.

"He didn't hurt anyone did he? Please tell me no one else was involved."

"Thankfully, no," Frankie said, moving to sit in the chair to my left, gently stroking Mia's leg that was around my waist. "He swerved off the road, did a few flips, and wrapped around a pole..." Maura gasped at this, and I grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently.

"My God, Frankie. How is it looking for him? Honestly.." I said, knowing that the damage from a crash like that must be detrimental.

"He was pretty banged up. He's still in surgery now. They said he had a lot of internal injuries, and possibly some brain problems. It's not looking so good, Janie," he said sadly, looking at the child who momentarily adjusted herself against me. I followed his gaze to her, smiling at her, then adorning a look of sadness. What was going to happen to her if Tommy didn't make it? I hadn't even thought of that.

Maura must have sensed my thoughts, and she stroked my arm gently, causing me to look at her. "She'll be fine, Jane. Don't worry about her, we'll figure it out if we have to, okay?" I nodded, smiling softly at her before moving both of my hands to softly comfort the child in my arms.

We sat in those chairs for what seemed like an eternity. About 2 am, a doctor came rushing into the room asking for us, prompting us all to stand up. Frost gently took Mia from my arms, motioning for me to go with my family to find out what was happening. I nodded my thank you, and turned to a waiting Maura and grabbed her hand, joining my family at the other end of the room.

"He had sever bleeding in his abdomen that we were able to stop. But he flat lined twice on the table and has some extensive brain damage. We have him on life support and are monitoring his brain activity. Until we get a general idea of what we're dealing with there, I can't tell you for sure about his recovery. I'm sorry," he said, and left.

Maura grabbed my arm at this news, and Frankie caught my mother as her knees gave out from underneath her. I turned to look at Frost, who was standing with Mia firmly rested against his shoulder, and shook my head, knowing that we all had some big things to think about.

Once Ma regained her composure, we all sat down again, knowing that we had to decide what to do. "He's not living on a machine," my mother said, and we all agreed. If Tommy's brain activity wasn't conducive to a meaningful life, than who were we to make him possibly suffer at our expense?

"What about Mia?" Frankie asked, eying the girl who had now been passing to my dad's embrace. "Well," I began, "It's been a team effort since the beginning, so I don't see a HUGE issue. We just keep doing what we've been doing, I guess."

"But if Tommy doesn't make it, she needs parents, Jane," Frankie said. "You and I are responsible for making sure that beautiful little girl gets what she needs." I nodded at his statement, knowing he was right. Someone would have to legally adopt Mia as their own if something happened to Tommy.

"For now, though, she'll be fine with what we already have going, right?" I asked. Everyone nodded, knowing that Mia was used to the shuffling between my house, Frankie's, my Ma's, Pop's, Korsak's and Frost's. I looked at the little girl in my father arms, who had barely stirred the entire night.

"Take her home Jane. Let her sleep in her bed. I'll call you if we hear anything," my mother suggested. I looked at Maura, who nodded and stood to accept the girl into her arms. "I'll walk her to the car, sweetheart," my dad stated. Maura nodded, accepted my outstretched hand, and after a round of goodbyes, we made our way with my father out of the hospital.

The ride home was relatively silent, the only noise coming from the soft music coming from the radio. After getting Mia into bed and settled, I shed my clothes, not even bothering to put on pajamas, and crawled into bed next to Maura, who had already been resting comfortably on her stomach. I kissed her softly, seeing her smile tiredly at the gesture, and placed my arm around her back to relax the events of the day away.

"I think we should adopt Mia, Jane," Maura murmured out of nowhere. I cracked open one of my eyes to see that both of hers were still closed and that she hadn't moved. I smiled at how calmly she had suggested it, like it was the most normal suggestion in the world.

"How about we talk about this when we're more awake, hmm?" I asked scooting closer to the half asleep body next to me.

"Mmm. What if we don't get the chance?" she asked. I thought about it for a second. She was right. If Tommy didn't wake up and something happened within the next 24 hours, it would be nice to at least have some idea about what to do.

"So, you think we should take her?" I asked nuzzling her shoulder. I could feel her nod against me, and smiled sleepily.

"I couldn't agree more. But only if you're sure..." I felt her kiss my forehead gently and nod again. Her arm lazily slipped from underneath her pillow to go around my waist and pull me closer.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life, after marrying you, of course." I smiled and felt her lightly kiss my forehead.

"Okay then. It's decided. That's what we'll do. Now, get some sleep, because who knows when we're going to see the bed again. I love you, Maura."

Maura smiled, whispering the phrase to me as we slipped into a deep slumber.

Sure enough, about four hours later, my mother called saying that Tommy's brain activity was next to none and that the chances of improvement were slim. I got Maura up, woke Mia up, who had been the only one to get a full night's sleep, and rushed to the hospital to see the same crowd there as only a few short hours before. Mia hugged everyone, and went to play in the little playroom the ER had set up specifically for that purpose.

"We kept him on the breathing machine until you got here. We need to have everything talked about before we make this decision," my father stated, visibly the most put together of my two parents.

"So... Mia?" I asked, receiving nods from everyone. I looked at Maura to take over the conversation. She nodded, and grabbed my hand. "Jane and I talked about possibly taking her in, if that's alright with everyone..." she said simply, causing everyone to look at us. I shifted under the glares, suddenly feeling really nervous.

"Sweetheart, I don't want that hassle to be on the two of you," My mother said from her spot in front of us. The chairs had ended up in a sort of circle so that all of us could hear each other.

"It's not a hassle, Ma," I stated. "She's with us all the time anyway. She has her own room at our house. She's pretty much our daughter anyway. We love having her around." I glanced at Maura who nodded in approval at my statement.

"What about your hectic schedules?" My mother asked, still not quite convinced.

"I thought about that," Maura said. "Jane and I have already significantly cut back on our hours at the office because of little Mia. She's in a good daycare that's not out of the way. And, if it so happens that neither of us are able to pick her up, there are (she sat up and counted) 6 other people that would be able and willing to do so, along with my parents, so 8." My father nodded, smiling at my wife's logic. He knew she was convincing and was always amazed at how she managed to talk people into things they wouldn't otherwise do.

"And you're sure that you wouldn't mind? I mean, this isn't just some temporary thing. You'd be adopting her, she'd be yours all the time. I mean, sure she has places to go and people to watch her, but at the end of the day, you're her parents. Are you alright with that responsibility?"

I looked at Maura, who happened to catch my glance at her and smiled. I nodded, answering my mother's question, and took her now outstretched hand.

I turned to see my father and Frankie's looks of approval, before meeting my mother's gaze. "We want this, Ma. She's been a huge part of our life for so long. We've gotten used to having her around all the time. She's what prompted me to propose in the first place, she's the reason we have an extra room in our house and were sure to get a big yard. It's all going to be fine."

My mother's eyes had started to glaze over in tears, and she pulled Maura and I into a hug. "Oh, my babies..." I hugged her back, feeling Maura do the same. She pulled away, wiped her eyes, and stood. "Well, Frank..." she said, turning to my father. He nodded, knowing that it was time to spare his middle son the suffering he might possibly be enduring.

My mother motioned for us to follow her and my father, as I turned, silently asking Frost and Korsak to look after my little girl. My little girl... I made a lot of sense. She looked a lot like she could be mine and Maura's child. Frost nodded at me, understanding my request and shooed me after my family.

Tommy looked terrible. I hadn't seen him the previous night, having gone home to let Mia, my wife and myself get some rest. He had bruises and gashes all over his face and exposed body. I nodded upon seeing him, knowing that if he he could feel anything, that it must be excruciating. Maura gripped my hand tightly. There was a time when she was close to Tommy. The got along rather well before the Scarlet incident tore Tommy apart. I felt Frankie's hand on my right shoulder, and turned to look him in the eyes. He squared his jaw and nodded, increasing his grip on my shoulder, and I nodded back, knowing how much he was hurting inside based on what I felt inside myself. The nurse entered, lowering her head in respect, and waited for my parent's to voice their decision.

Ma looked at Pop, who nodded at the nurse, who then proceeded to turn off the machines whose steady beeping had been filling the room. The beeping stayed steady for a moment, and then started to slow, until the steady sound of a single note filled the room. I felt Maura start to sob, and pulled her to me, burying her face in my neck as she cried softly. The nurse turned off the flatline, and excused herself to give us a moment. I turned to see tears in Frankie's eyes, the same tears that were in my own. My mother had collapsed into my father's arms, and we all just stood by quietly, trying to take in what had just happened and what was to come.


	7. The little moments

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes: **Hi again! Has taken me a while to get some time, but here we are! Thank you lovely reviewers! But, there are some comments I would like to address.  
>1. Angela wasn't deciding between Frankie having Mia and Jane and Maura taking her, she was going to take her herself. She's had children, she knows what it's like and was just trying to make sure that the two were sure about what they were getting into before they made the commitment.<p>

2. The reason Jane and Maura never stepped up to say anything about Scarlet was because they were unsure. Maura didn't think anything was wrong at first, and even when she started to think something was up, she's not one to jump to conclusions. It was one of those, "We're not going to as about your personal life, you'd tell us if you wanted to" situations.  
>Um... I think that's all the things I wanted to address. Now, to fight writer's block with WRITING! YEA!<p>

It took us all a while to cope with Tommy's death. Maura and I both had nights where we'd just sit on the couch in each others' arms trying to come to terms with it all. Mia was too little to understand, nothing was really all that different to her. She was the same happy go lucky child she had always been. But it still seemed like she knew something was up. Whenever either Maura or I would have a "moment", she seemed to know to occupy herself, either with toys or the pets, so that we wouldn't have to chase after her.

But her addition to our home permanently seemed quite natural. It worked the way it always had, with a few minor changes: She slept in her bed, we got up, got her ready for daycare and took her there, went to work, did our jobs, and picked her up on the way home. If we had to work late, someone in the immediate circle would take care of it and keep her until we were able to leave. On those occasions when Maura and I would pull 72 hours straight, she'd just sleep over at Ma's or Frankie's depending on the situation, and once we'd had a chance to catch up on sleep, she'd come back. We fell into the routine like a well oiled machine.

And even though the situation surrounding it wasn't stellar, our adopting Mia was one of the best decisions we ever made. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but whose life is? She brought a light into our lives unlike any other. It was the little things: teaching her new words, watching her grow and mature into a little person, seeing the new facial expressions and gestures she'd pick up from those around her.

I remember one day I had gotten off before Maura, which was rare, and Mia and I were putting together a giant floor puzzle when Maura walked in. I could tell she was exhausted, but she set her stuff down, kissed us both, and sat on the floor to help anyways. We talked about the rest of her day, what Mia and I had been up to, all the standard conversation for an evening. After a while, Maura started leaning on me, no longer able to hide the wear of the day. After asking her quietly if she wanted to call it a night, she nodded against my shoulder, and tried to suppress the yawn that escaped her lips anyway. Maura told Mia it was time for bed, and she looked at Maura with the biggest puppy dog eyes I had ever seen, slightly bit her lip, and said, "No more puzzle?"

It was undoubtedly the cutest thing I had ever seen, and I felt Maura sigh as she tried to stay strong in her demand. "No more puzzle, sweetheart. Time for bed." Mia gave a saddened sigh, and dutifully began to tidy up her mess. I felt Maura shake her head against my shoulder. "What?" I asked.

"She got that look from you, ya know."

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and smirked. "So now you've got two girls you have a hard time saying no to?"

She nodded against me as I pulled her in tighter. "I'm outnumbered."

**I wanted a short cute chapter after the last one. Hope you don't mind. REVIEW TIME!**


	8. I think it's time

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes: **LOVE YOU GUYS! But I've been suffering the worst case of "and then life gets in the way" where this story is involved. Every time I sat down to write, something else would come up, or I couldn't think of where to go. I actually need to thank a reviewer for giving me an idea of where I wanted to take this story next (because I had NO idea). So, thanks go out to Swishla for the inspiration!

As Mia's fourth birthday came and went, she became more and more aware of how different her home situation was. It started out with the little things, like her noticing that Maura and I were different from a normal couple, that a lot more people took care of her than normal, and that Ma would often get after she would tell her she looked particularly pretty that day.

Then, on a particularly hot summer day, I came home to Mia trying to ride Bass like a pony, and Maura with her head in her hands on the couch. I said my hellos, and sat down next to my wife, trying to figure out what was obviously wrong. She looked up at me and only said, "I didn't know what to tell her, Jane."

I looked at her with confusion, and then glance over at Mia, who had just then placed Jo on top of Bass' shell for an adventure. I chuckled softly, before replying, "About what Maura? Did she finally stump the genius at her own game?"

I looked at her, and seeing the seriousness of her gaze, placed my hand to soothingly rub her back.

"What happened, honey?" I whispered.

She glanced up to see Mia place a bucket on Jo's head as a hat, and smiled softly, before turning to say, "She asked why she doesn't have a mom and dad like other kids."

I nodded slowly, and grabbed her hand, knowing that this was indeed a big deal. "What did you say?"

"I told her that she had a special kind of family, and that it made her special, and she seemed to be okay with that answer, but Jane... I think she needs to know."

I looked down at the sadness and worry in my wife's eyes, and nodded in agreement. "I don't know where to begin, Maura," I said, looking away from Maura to eye to television for the first time since I'd walked in the door. A commercial for the local park was playing, and the playground equipment had caught Mia's attention. Across the screen flashed images of children laughing and playing, some with other kids and some with their parents. I smiled at the happy faces, before feeling a tiny hand tug my own. Mia had made her way over to me, and was trying to catch my attention.

"What sweetheart?" I said, lifting her onto my lap.

"How come other kids have mommies and daddies and I don't?" she asked.

I looked at Maura for guidance, and receiving only a shrug and a hand on my own, I realized that she didn't know what to do either.

"Mia... you know what being sick is like, right?" I started.

"Uhuh. When you feel icky and tired and gross," she replied.

"Right. Well, when your mommy was pregnant with you, she was really sick," I said, moving my hand to rub her arm.

"She didn't feel good?" she asked, grabbing the pillow next to me and playing with it.

"No, she didn't. And she didn't ever feel better, either. She was very, VERY sick until you were born."

"Then what happened?" she asked, looking up at me to wait for the response.

"Well, she had you and then she died. Do you know what that means, Mia?" I asked, looking to Maura, who only gave a nod and a soft supportive smile.

"Uhuh. It's like when someone falls asleep, only they don't wake up," she answered, obviously proud of her knowledge.

"That's right. Your mommy died not long after you were born. She was really sick and just couldn't get better."

"If my mommy died... what happened to my dad?"

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt the hand that was still in mine grip tighter and got the courage to continue.

"Your dad was my brother, Mia, like Frankie is. After your mommy died, he got really sad. He loved your mommy, and he loved you, but because of what happened to your mommy, he just wasn't happy."

"So, daddy was sad because mommy died?"

"Yeah. He was very, very sad. One night he got hurt really bad from crashing his car."

"Like when I fall and scrape my knee, hurt?"

I smirked slightly at the child's understanding, and continued. "Yes, Mia. Only it was a lot worse. When someone crashes a car, it's like getting a scrape, but all over."

Mia cringed at this, but continued. "So, he died, too?"

I nodded, and she looked between Maura and I for a second, before deciding on what to ask next. "If I don't have a mommy and daddy anymore, then what about you and Maura?"

"What about us, honey?" Maura asked as she scooted closer.

"You two are married like a mommy and daddy, and I live with you and you take care of me like a mommy and daddy, but you're both girls, and NOT my mommy and daddy. Right?"

Maura and I looked at each other, and then looked at Mia. We knew this day would come, too, we just didn't think we get bombarded with everything at once. But, might as well kill two birds and all that.

"Sweetheart," Maura began, obviously realizing that I didn't know what to say, "When I said you were special, I meant it. Everything you said was correct. Two women can get married and two men can get married, but some people don't like it."

"How come?"

"Well, some people just don't think that it's a good idea. But Jane and I love each other very much, and we love you very much, which is why we take care of you and why we're married. After your mom and dad died, you needed someone to live with and take care of you, and Jane and I decided that we would do it. We love you very much and thought it would be a good idea to adopt you and legally make you our daughter, and it was."

Mia nodded in understanding. "A girl in my class is adopted. Wait... you're my moms, aren't you?"

"Technically, yes. But you already knew us by our names when we adopted you, so that's why you don't call us that."

Mia nodded again, taking it all in.

"My parents died, you and Jane adopted me, and I don't call you mom because I already knew you by Jane and Maura?"

We both nodded at her, waiting for her to come up with more questions. When she moved to get off of my lap, it surprised us both that she was finished. I looked at Maura and sighed heavily, putting my arm around her shoulders.

"That went a lot better than I thought," I said, kissing the top of Maura's head.

"She's a very intelligent child, Jane. There isn't much she doesn't understand anymore. For just over four, she has an exceptional brain."

"I know. Makes me think she's related to you somehow," I said with a laugh.

We settled into a comfortable silence watching Mia return to her task of convincing Bass to give her a ride.

"Jane..." she said from her spot on the floor.

"What honey?"

"Would it be okay if I called you and Maura mom?"

I smiled and looked over at Maura, who only smiled back. I kissed her forehead and felt her snuggle further into me. "Of course you can, sweetheart," Maura said. "Just make sure there's SOME sort of difference in what you call us so we know who you're talking to."

"If I called you mommy and Jane mom, would that be okay?"

As I nodded, and felt Maura do the same against my shoulder, I felt like my heart would burst from happiness. Maura and I had been talking about possibly expanding our family, giving Mia someone to play with, and having someone around that would call us mom, or mommy. Mia willingly wanting to use the titles only made my amount of love for her increase, as if that was even possible, and instantly made up my mind about the baby situation. I knew that I would never tire of being a mother, and that if Maura was up to it, we would make the leap.

Now that Maura knew what about everything, it seemed like life would get just a little easier for themselves and everyone around them. Finally, it seemed like those last puzzles pieces were falling into place.


	9. And so it goes

**Disclaimer:**I do not, nor will I ever, have any rights to Rizzoli & Isles

**Author's Notes: **I think this is it for this one. Sorry it's so short, but I didn't think I needed too much to end it, since it started at the end. (sorry if it sucks!) Thanks to all of my avid reviewers and followers. I think the next one will be a one shot (at least that's what I'm hoping to do. We'll see.) I love you all!

The IVF treatment worked on our first go round... and that's what has led me hear, with my beautiful pregnant wife and five year old cuddled up together in bed. It's moments like this when I can just sit down and watch the two of them totally relaxed and happy. They look so peaceful when they sleep. This has to be my new favorite hobby. Me, the fearless bad ass cop gets all warm and fuzzy inside by simply watching the people I love more than anything exist.

I have to say that five years ago, I would've never seen this for myself. I'm married to someone I only dreamed about for a long time, with a beautiful daughter and a child on the way. Sure, life got in the way, but in these perfect moments, I'm able to forget about the world outside and focus on the most important and most meaningful part of my existence: my family.

Maura just caught me looking over my laptop at her. She's smiling sweetly at me, knowing that I often like to watch them sleep. God I love this woman. She just mouthed something... "Coming?" she says... Cuddling with my girls on a lazy day? Can't pass that invite up. Sorry guys, but I have WAY more important things to do now...


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